RWE has taken the Financial Investment Decision on its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) flagship Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project, globally the largest offshore project in its renewables fleet.
The 100% RWE-owned project represents a total investment of approximately £3billion.
The company is now poised to forge ahead with the construction of Sofia, with onshore enabling works due to start this Spring and offshore construction in 2023.
Final project completion is expected by Q4 2026. RWE was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) for Sofia in 2019, achieving a strike price of £39.65 per megawatt hour (in 2012 prices).
Tom Glover, Chief Commercial Officer RWE Renewables and RWE UK Country Chair said: “Through this decision, we strengthen our commitment to growing and investing in renewable energy in the UK, and to playing a significant part in helping deliver the UK’s ambition to grow offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030. Today’s milestone and the achievements to come represent successful collaboration with the local, regional and national supply chain, and the local communities with whom we are committed to continuing to work. Through our investment, Sofia presents a great opportunity for RWE to unlock long-term local jobs, and business benefits, while delivering new renewable energy for over 1.2million UK homes every year.”
The consented project is located on Dogger Bank, 195 km from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast. The project will have a single offshore converter platform, with the electricity generated transported via a high voltage direct current export cable to landfall 220 kilometres away in Redcar, Teesside. Sofia will require a new onshore converter station, and already has an agreed grid connection point at the existing National Grid substation in Lackenby, Teesside, seven kilometres inland.
For more information about the project, please visit: www.sofiawindfarm.com